ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the methods used to explore the environment of social interaction and exchange within a community that articulates its place. Data presented in the chapter from the herper community case study is both qualitative and quantitative. The environment of the Herpetological community has been expressed through physical interactions and digital engagements and online relational architectures of influence. The qualitative insights have demonstrated that the impact of the Internet has been to open up what was previously a closed community and increase network resilience through social diversity. The media that people use to interact with each other defines the scope of information and communications technology (ICT) use and the accessibility and reach of social ties across the environment of a community. It reveals the nature of sociality within the community, for example whether it is group based or enacted through informal social networks.
